At ACLC 2019, the term, Co-op 4.0 was floated. Today, we are living in an environment in which technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and data analytics are changing the way we live, work and play. This environment is described as the fourth industrial revolution. It is important that co-operatives embark on digital transformation to continue to be sustainable, relevant and impactful in the future.

When COVID-19 hit our shores, we experienced a huge disruption to our lives and work. It meant one thing to all: change.

We saw ourselves change: our mode of working - from office to home, and our way of connecting with one another - from face-to-face to digital screens.

This change to embrace the digital world is real. While we are still adapting to this new norm, we can leverage some digital tools to help us quicken the pace of adoption, and improve our productivity and efficiency at work.

COLLABORATION TOOLS

Do you miss the time in office when you can immediately share with colleagues an idea that springs to mind? With work-from-home, we will have to make the effort to call (and/or video call) or message a colleague to share that idea, while at the same time feeling conscious that we may inconvenience them as we are not able to see whether they are busy or not. This can slowly deter us from sharing ideas immediately and in the process we may park the ideas aside and forget them eventually.

Collaboration tools, such as Trello, Monday, Asana, Slack, Google Workspace and more, allow staff to manage and plan their workload or project works individually and as a team. These tools will help in effective project management especially in an environment where meetings and discussions are conducted virtually.

Timelines and jobs to be done are in clear view of all team members, making responsibilities and communications more seamless.

PRODUCTIVITY APPS

The transformation from a physical office to a home office is probably one of the key changes most commonly highlighted during the pandemic. When working from home, there would be different set of distractions. We are more relaxed at home, hence we may procrastinate and not feel the urgency when a deadline is near. How many times do our tasks get pushed to the next day?

Productivity apps, such as Forest, Pomodoro, FLIPd, Cold Turkey, Google Tasks and more, may come in handy to help us focus, and maintain a positive work mindset.

PROFESSIONAL TOOLS

Ever wanted to design a poster but are not proficient in design software? Or did you have to create a website but have zero clue about coding?

Designing tools, such as Canva, Crello, Mural and more, allow us to create a poster using the in-built set templates. If we are in a creative mood, we can start from a blank sheet. It is easy to design. We simply drag and drop elements into the blank sheet and export it in our preferred format for immediate usage.

Website development can also be less intimidating for folks with little knowledge on coding or programming. Website building tools, such as Wix, Squarespace, WordPress and more, offer a drag-and-drop experience when creating a website. You may also use one of the templates and customise it to your needs or build it from a blank page where you search for elements to add to your page.

There are abundance of tools and apps to assist you in your digital transformation. It  is all about trying out which tools suit your requirement the best and help you gear up for a smooth digital journey!